Transparency is on everyone’s lips

Think of it as a curse with a silver lining.

Seeing the opportunity will allow you to get the best out of transparency.

With everyone focused on the ominous FATCA and the CRS (Common Reporting Standard) agreements scheduled for implementation as early as the beginning of 2018, it is often hard to see beyond the threat and the nuisance that such legislation brings.

There are, however, upsides. One unexpected side effect of this push for transparency and the fall of bank secrecy is a window of opportunity to put the “money from the mountains” back on the table. Finally, the elephant that has silently been sitting in the room can be addressed and better yet, exploited. Families can dismiss the burden of secrecy – and freely discuss their money without feeling restricted. To some, moral uncertainty is now a shadow of the past and the cookie jar they could only gaze at high up on the shelf can at last be enjoyed.

And how has this migration affected your relations with your private banker? Your private banker was traditionally your gatekeeper and sentinel of secrecy – today, in a highly digital world, where secrecy is no longer possible, is there value to his presence?

We would argue that the expertise that has traditionally accompanied you in administering your wealth is just as important today but that it is now a part of a more complex framework necessary to keep and grow your wealth. And that despite the fact that secrecy has become an artifact of the past, privacy is still very much key to protecting your family. A dedicated Family office is often the perfect go-between protecting the privacy of the older generation and safe guarding the future of the family’s heirs.